Nothing less than full cooperation with the Department of Statistics is expected from Jordanians, as well as residents on Jordanian territory, in carrying out next month's population census. In fairness to the public, Jordan's past experiences with the census have, according to available records, shown broad responsiveness to what has been regarded as a truly national occasion.
اضافة اعلان
The upcoming census is the sixth in the Kingdom's history, with the last general count having taken place a little over ten years ago, in 2015. In Jordanian collective memory, government instructions once required citizens to stay in their homes and avoid going out, to ensure everyone could be reached and counted.
Early in Jordan's adoption of development planning, state institutions showed advanced awareness of the importance of studying demographic characteristics as a basis for designing development programs and delivering services fairly to citizens.
The census has been, and remains, for Jordan and countries around the world, an occasion to learn about the conditions of citizens and residents, their numbers, education levels, and the services they receive, not to mention their assets and standard of living.
It's true that the tools and methods for studying population characteristics have evolved over time. We now have ongoing national surveys covering various segments of the population, studies conducted by government and research institutions on citizens' economic conditions, in addition to documented data from international institutions on both citizens and resident refugees. Yet despite all this, the general census remains more important than all these sources, given that it covers all citizens and residents, and its ability to produce accurate results surpasses the precision of sector specific surveys or those based on sampling.
In this census, a new method has been added, relying on digital services to obtain the required results.
The Department of Statistics has opened the door to self-enumeration through the "Sanad" app, where citizens can obtain the questionnaire through the app, fill it out electronically, and submit it with a single tap. The department has set a three-day period for this service, while the general field census conducted by researchers will continue for a full month.
I don't believe that, ten years from now, we will still be conducting the population census the same way. Technology will certainly, within a short time, provide digital solutions for carrying out such a process without the need to deploy thousands of employees across residential neighborhoods for an entire month.
And why should we wait years to reach this level of advancement? Dozens of countries have already moved past the traditional method of population census years ago.
In many countries, the model has changed entirely. They have come to rely on accessing citizens' and residents' data through state records linked electronically, alongside a field survey covering only 10% of the population. It's likely that this approach, too, is on its way out, given the enormous advances in technology and data collection and storage.
Jordan has a strong foundation to adopt this model in the near future. It is no longer difficult to rely on electronic data drawn from government records, such as civil status, social security, income tax, land and survey records, and the records of the Ministries of Education and Health, as well as the departments responsible for foreigners' affairs, refugees, and workers in Jordan.
Combined, the data held by these institutions could give decision makers a continuous and accurate update on the country's demographic changes, without the need for a massive, costly field census like the one currently being prepared.
In short, this census of Jordanians could well be the last of its kind in their history.
